{"id":2886,"date":"2017-04-16T17:06:49","date_gmt":"2017-04-16T08:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2017-04-16T17:06:49","modified_gmt":"2017-04-16T08:06:49","slug":"five-high-profile-footballers-playing-indonesias-liga-1-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/2017\/04\/16\/five-high-profile-footballers-playing-indonesias-liga-1-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Five high-profile footballers playing in Indonesia’s Liga 1 this season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indonesia’s Liga 1 officially kicks off today and football fans around the country will undoubtedly want to see massive performances from new marquee players the club signed during the pre-season. Football Tribe Asia takes a look at five of the big-money signings by Liga 1 clubs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1. Michael Essien (Persib Bandung)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former Chelsea and Ghanaian international made the headlines by his surprise move to Persib\u00a0Bandung in March, signing a one-year\u00a0contract.<\/p>\n

At the age of 34, Essien is perhaps not the tireless midfielder he once was, but his vast European experience could prove to be a decisive factor for Persib’s campaign this season.<\/p>\n

Essien enjoyed tremendous success when he was playing for Chelsea, winning 4 FA Cups, 2 Premier Leagues, 1 League Cup and 1 Champions League.<\/p>\n

Persib have already reaped the benefit of signing Essien by selling over 1,000 jerseys in the past 3 weeks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Mohamed Sissoko (Mitra Kukar)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohamed Sissoko is considered the second biggest signing for Liga 1 this season, after completing his transfer to Mitra Kukar on April 13.<\/p>\n

Sissoko enjoyed a lengthy career in Europe, making over 200 appearances for powerhouses such as Valencia, Liverpool, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old defensive midfielder is expected to give Mitra Kukar’s midfield a boost.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Peter Odemwingie (Madura United)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite joining Madura United on the twilight of his career, Odemwingie’s experience at both club and international level could help Madura’s cause.<\/p>\n

Peter Odemwingie<\/span> is most famously known for his stints at Premier League<\/span> clubs West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City and Stoke City, where he scored 36 goals in 129 appearances.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old striker made his debut for the Nigeria national football team in 2002 and has represented the country over 60 times.<\/p>\n

He played in two World Cups (2010, 2014) and four Africa Cup of Nations (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010), and won silver medal at the 2008 Olympics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

4. Carlton Cole (Persib Bandung)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alongside Michael Essien, Carlton Cole is widely expected to perform for Persib Bandung and help them retain the title.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old<\/span>\u00a0began his career at Chelsea in 2001 before being transferred to West Ham United in 2006. He scored 51 goals in 289 Premier League<\/span> appearances for four clubs.<\/p>\n

His most recent stints were with Scottish champions Celtic and United Soccer League club Sacramento Republic\u00a0(2016).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

5. Juan Pablo Pino (Arema FC)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Colombian forward’s may not be as well-known as other players in this list, but stints at European sides Monaco, Galatasaray and Olympiakos prove that Juan Pablo Pino could be a force to reckon with.<\/p>\n

Capable of playing on either side as a winger, Pino can also be utilized as a striker. He is known for his dribbling ability and long-distance shots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indonesia’s Liga 1 officially kicks off today and football fans around the country will undoubtedly want to see massive performances from new marquee players the club signed during the pre-season. Football Tribe Asia takes a look at five of the big-money signings by Liga 1 clubs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":2890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,26],"tags":[584,204,512,502,522],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}